Television, radio, and other broadcast or recorded media have converted from analog to digital format with respect to recording and playback of programs. Digital television and radio are being integrated with the Internet, such that an end user may view live and recorded events from Internet-ready televisions, desktops, lap tops, tablet computers, mobile devices, etc. (herein referred to as “second screens”).
There has also been an explosion of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., that permit users to join networks of social groups. Members of social networks may post text, still images, audio, and video, and have other members comment on and provide feedback for the posted items. There are a host of social networking providers that have married second screen and social media applications. There are a multitude of applications that marry the second screen and capitalize on social media. Such applications include IntoNow, Shazam, GetGlue, Miso, and Zeebox. The trend has been to enable second-screen providers to create content specifically for the second screen. The goal of second screen providers is to create heightened audience engagement, drive traffic to an application, and generate advertisement revenue.
There are also applications that enable audience members to discuss shows, events, and games (hereinafter “events”). Applications include Twitter and SportsYapper. There exist applications that permit users to broadcast events from their mobile devices, including alternative audio commentary. The alternative audio commentary may include play-by-play, color commentary, etc.
Unfortunately, providers of alternative audio commentary applications have had difficulty synchronizing the primary video track of the event with the alternative audio commentary track of the event. In certain situations, an end user of the alternative audio application may receive the alternative audio track significantly before receiving the primary video track. The end user may hear an alternative audio commentator announce that a player has hit a home run up to seconds before seeing the video feed, ruining the experience of the game. Another problematic effect encountered in alternative audio applications is known as drift. Drift occurs when there is a noticeable difference in time between when an end user and when an alternative audio commentator receive video of the same event. An alternative audio track received by the end user may still not be synchronized with the video track received by the end user.
Accordingly, what would be desirable, but has not yet been provided, is a system and method for synchronizing primary video of live and recorded events with alternative audio commentary from a second audio channel or a second screen.